


A Most Irregular Abduction

by journeythroughtherain



Series: Long live the King [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Assassin Bucky Barnes, But to be fair so is Tony, Cuddles, King Tony Stark, M/M, Misunderstandings, Poor James is so confused, kidnappings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-06 09:45:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14639262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/journeythroughtherain/pseuds/journeythroughtherain
Summary: When Tony had gone to sleep, it had been in an actual bed, in an actual room, in his own actual castle. Now, he was laying on his back staring up at the canopy of an unfamiliar forest. He closed his eyes again.'It's just a dream, you're dreaming, when you open your eyes again you'll be back home.'Sneaking a glance let him know that no, he was still not back home.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MassiveSpaceWren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MassiveSpaceWren/gifts), [Shi_Toyu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Assassin's plot [ART]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13111863) by [MassiveSpaceWren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MassiveSpaceWren/pseuds/MassiveSpaceWren), [Shi_Toyu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu). 



> So, this is a continuation of sorts of Assassin's Plot by the wonderful MassiveSpaceWren and Shi_Toyu - this won't make much sense without reading that first (and the art is lovely and definitely worth a look)!
> 
> Credit goes to Fluffypanda for James' choice of cover. It certainly inspired me!

The first thought in Tony's head when he woke up was _'This is not where I went to sleep'._

Because when he'd gone to sleep, it had been in an actual bed, in an actual room, in his own actual castle. Now, he was laying on his back staring up at the canopy of an unfamiliar forest. He closed his eyes again.

_'It's just a dream, you're dreaming, when you open your eyes again you'll be back home.'_

Sneaking a glance let him know that no, he was still not back home. Sighing, he sat up to take stock of his location. 

He was in the woods, but not one of those surrounding the castle. This meant he was at least half a day's ride out, which made him wonder even more how he got there without waking up. He didn't feel the tiredness of a drugged sleep either, so whoever had brought him there had done it without giving him anything to keep him out. 

Looking down he saw he'd been placed on a canvas and covered in blankets. Okay, so whoever's got him wanted him comfortable. That bode well — why provide comfort to someone you wanted to kill and/or torture for information? 

The canvas had been made waterproof, which he was grateful for as the ground was still soaked from last night's storm. Shucking off the blankets, he stood up and stretched. 

Another anomaly — if someone had kidnapped him, why hadn't they restrained him, made sure he wouldn't just walk away? A quick check revealed he still had his ring as well, which meant they'd either been fooled by Natasha's elaborate design or hadn't bothered to search him at all. Tony had enough experience to know this was not how a kidnapping usually went.

While he was pondering, he walked a circle around his resting place to see if he could spot any traces of his captor. He could find none. It was as if he'd been plucked right out of his bed by some sort of mystical force, swaddled in blankets and then dumped right down in the middle of the forest.

Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from deeper in the woods. He snatched up a nearby branch — which wouldn't do much good against an assailant, but was better than nothing — and retreated behind a tree close to the nest of blankets. He waited, muscles tense and holding his breath, until he could see a dark, cloaked figure emerging from the trees. Waiting until he came close enough, Tony hefted his branch and struck out at the figure.

Who grabbed the branch with one hand and broke it off as if it was just a tiny twig. 

Dropping his end of the branch, Tony fell into a fighting stance. Whoever this was, whatever reason they had for taking him, he would _not_ go down easy.

"Tony, wait!"

He knew that gruff voice— no, it couldn't be…

"... James? Is that you?"

The figure reached up with one hand and removed his hood and a mask that covered half his face. Underneath Tony could see the familiar features of his newest friend. Still, he refused to relax just yet.

"James, what in the names of the gods is happening? Why are you wearing that? Where are we?"

He'd never seen his friend dressed like this in the time since they'd met. Granted, it was only a fortnight or so ago, but James was only a courier, a messenger, he had no reason to even own the dark, high quality leathers that was currently clad tightly around his body. 

Very tightly.

_'No, Tony, not the time, don't get distracted now.'_

Before he could react, James had crossed the distance between them and silenced him with a gloved hand.

"Shh, not now. We need to get further away. I cannot let them find us, I will not let them take you back."

Tony felt his eyebrows rise. He'd been taken? By whom? And why was James the one to find him and bring him back? None of it made sense, but Tony resolved to follow James' lead for now, since he seemed to know what was going on.

James tied the blankets up in a bundle before draping his travelling cloak over Tony and leading him through the forest. His steps were nearly soundless, Tony noticed, and he felt like a rampaging boar in comparison. Soon they arrived in a clearing where a horse was waiting, all packed up and ready to travel. As they came closer, Tony realized he recognized it.

"Hey, Becca, how are you? How are the new shoes working out?" He whispered as he pet her muzzle, not wanting to upset James by speaking too loudly. The horse nuzzled her face into Tony's and snorted, tickling his neck and forcing him to bite his tongue to keep from giggling.

James, having untied Becca while Tony was distracted, jumped up in one smooth movement before reaching a hand out to Tony. 

"Here, get up."

Tony grabbed it and used it to hoist himself up behind James on the saddle. Settling down, he hesitated a bit before letting his hands rest on James' hip. He was surprised when James reached back and dragged his arms forward until they joined around his waist. 

"Hold on tight. Don't fall off."

Having obtained permission, Tony snuggled up closer, resting his head on James' back while the horse made its way through the trees. 

He was absentmindedly running his hands over James' chest when he froze. That... That was definitely a dagger. A large one at that.

He continued his movements, more purposefully this time, and found two, three— no, four different knives strapped to James' chest underneath the leather. That was not something a normal courier would carry. That was more than Tony's own guard would carry. 

A feeling of dread spread through him at the thought that James was not who he claimed to be.

He felt James tense up in response to his own sudden stillness, so he resumed his motions, trying to seem as casual as possible.

Underneath, his mind was racing. 

James — if that even was his name — was _not_ a simple courier waiting to deliver a message, as he'd first claimed. Tony would have been more suspicious, as messengers usually didn't stay in the castle for longer than a few days at most, but his horse had needed new shoes, and then he'd had to wait for a response to the delivered message, and then Tony had maybe sort of offered to forge him some new gear just so he would stay a bit longer. 

So maybe he had contributed somewhat to why James had been around for so long. Whatever. The point was, James had accepted his offer even if it had delayed his travels by days, which by no account a good courier should do. Tony had no illusions anymore that he was the reason (he might have, on occasion, daydreamed about what it would be like if James had come to him in the forge, telling him he wanted to stay and be close to Tony, and how he'd then maybe take Tony's hand in his own and grace it with a kiss), which meant James had his own reasons for wanting the delay.

Tony was jostled out of his thoughts by Becca speeding up to a trot, only now noticing that they had come upon an old cart road winding through the trees. He clutched his arms tighter around James' waist and adjusted to the new movement. James didn't complain, though whether it was because he didn't mind or because he didn't want to break the silence, Tony couldn't say.

Left once again to his own thoughts, Tony wondered what it meant that James had retrieved him from his... Kidnappers? Whoever had managed to break in and abduct him in the first place. How had he known? Had he seen them? Maybe, but why not alert the guard, why set out on his own to bring Tony back? Perhaps James had thought they wouldn't believe him. But Tony was the king, any disappearance of his would be investigated, no matter who had reported it in. Maybe it was because he had something to hide himself, and didn't want to be subjected to scrutiny.

At the very least it seemed that no matter who he was, James had no wish to hurt him. Tony let the thought comfort him as they made their way down the overgrown road.


	2. Chapter 2

Setting up camp was a quiet affair. James did most of the work, as he'd bundled Tony up in the blankets again the moment they'd come off the horse. It left Tony a bit disgruntled, despite being both very warm and cozy. He caught himself nodding off a few times as he watched James trudge around the small clearing where they’d stopped.

James didn't light a fire, so Tony assumed he still believed they had people on their trail. At least the food he'd brought was just as good cold as any warm meal. When he got up again and readied himself for travel, though, Tony couldn't help but let out a groan in complaint. 

"No, you can't be serious. We've ridden all day, please don't make me get back up on the horse!"

James peered down at him from behind the facemask he'd put back on. He looked intimidating like that, almost frightening. 

Yet for some reason all Tony's sleepy mind wanted to do in that moment was to reach up and cradle James’ face in his hands. Then maybe give his uncovered forehead a gentle kiss, and card his fingers through his—

"I am going back. You are staying here, and staying safe."

That woke Tony up from his drowsiness.

"What, no! Why are you going? And where?” Tony flailed around, struggling to untangle himself from the bundle of blankets. “Don't think I've forgotten you promised me you'd explain everything, James. I need to know what's going on."

James faltered in his steps, and Tony paused his attempts at unswaddling. The other man stood in silence for a while, presumably debating what to tell Tony, if anything at all. Finally, he spoke.

"I need to finish my mission. But I... I couldn't leave you there, with them — with _him_ — when I knew what they'd done."

There was _so much_ of what he’d just said that didn't make any sense at all, that needed clearing up, but Tony decided to start simple.

"Who are you?"

Or not.

James hesitated, looking torn. Tony made himself wait patiently; if James wasn't going to answer, he would’ve already said no. 

After a minute or two, James began to talk.

"I'm... I'm an assassin, the fist of Hydra, and they call me the Winter Soldier."

Tony felt ice trickle down his spine.

He knew that name. Anyone of royal blood knew that name; it was part of a legend, a fairy tale, a warning told among the people of the courts — if anyone died unexpectedly, it was the Winter Soldier who'd taken them. He'd thought it was just a saying, that the Winter Soldier was more of an assassins’ guild or a codename for assassinations in general. But if it was true, if the Winter Soldier really was one single person, he would be one with the highest count of noble deaths to his name in Tony's lifetime.

He had barely managed to wrap his head around James’ admission when he spoke up again.

"I was sent on a mission, by Hydra, to kill King Stark."

To kill… _King Stark_?

Tony couldn’t breathe for a moment as the implication hit him. Staring up at the man in front of him with wide eyes, he tried to process the myriad of emotions fighting in his chest.

James, sweet, handsome James, who'd listened to him ramble and helped him lift heavy gear in the smithy even though Tony could've handled it himself. Who had smiled at him so shy and sweet when Tony had presented him with his gifts. Whose eyes shone silver in the morning light as he greeted Tony at the beginning of every day.

 _That_ James was there to kill him?

James, noticing his distress, knelt down in front of him and reached out with a hand. Tony couldn't help it; he flinched back. 

James leaned back and hurriedly loosened his mask before flinging it aside.

"Tony, please. I know he is your king, but you must know how he is. And I would never, _never_ harm you. Please, if nothing else, then believe that." He crept forward again and carefully took hold of Tony's hands and nestled them in his own. His thumbs brushed carefully over the calluses in his palm before he turned Tony’s hands over and lifted them up, pressing his lips to his ring in a fleeting kiss. Tony was still too stunned and confused to do anything but let him.

James was there to kill the king, but he wouldn't hurt Tony? But... That didn't make any sense. Tony _was_ the king. Killing the king would definitely hurt him. James' statement made no sense. Unless…

A hand on his cheek broke him out of his spiralling thoughts. James cradled Tony's face, his touch light and careful. Tony met his eyes and found he couldn't look away from the pain inside them.

Leaning his forehead to Tony’s, James whispered. "I will not let him force you again." 

... Unless James had no idea he was the king. 

Which was absolutely _ridiculous_. That the king liked to wander the castle among his people and workforce wasn't exactly a secret. He'd even managed to convince his personal guard that he had no need for constant supervision during the day by pointing out he was always surrounded by loyal subjects everywhere he went. Tony had trust in his people; like his people had laid their trust in him.

That James had somehow managed to... To infiltrate his household (the knowledge of which still hurt like a knife through his heart) and never notice that Tony was more than just the guy manning the forge on occasion?

Well. Maybe it spoke more of Tony than James. He had, perhaps, been running to the smithy slightly more frequently than usual ever since James had arrived. Still, for the _Winter Soldier_ , the actual legend, to miss something like that? 

Tony had no answers at all.

And despite James' reassurances that he would not harm him, harm Tony, he did _not_ want to try the man's conviction against his mission to kill the king. His secret would remain as such for now. At least until Tony could find out exactly who wanted him dead, and for what reason. There was one thing that still niggled at his mind, one piece of the puzzle he needed an answer to.

"So you were the one that kidnapped me?"

James didn't lean back, but his eyes left Tony's as he looked away. "I... I brought you with me, yes."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "So you just decided to snatch me from my bed in the middle of the night?"

The sound that escaped James at that could not be described as anything but a growl.

"I took you from _his_ bed. I could have waited for him there, but I had no wish for you to see me this way. And I did not want to leave you there for him. So I made a— I made a choice."

The way he stumbled over the word made Tony wonder if James hadn't had much in the way of choices before. Being an assassin hired to make a kill wouldn't leave a guy with much leeway for interpretation, Tony supposed.

Okay. So, James was under the impression that someone in the castle had harmed Tony, and that the best course of action was to kidnap Tony in order to get away from them. Which was... Well, the sentiment was sweet, but— kidnapping. Tony was not a fan.

But wait. James said he had plucked him from someone else's bed. Tony was sure he'd fallen asleep in his own bed, for once, instead of in the workshop or his study. And the person James had been after was the king, after all. So... James thought _the king_ was the one Tony needed saving from? 

The entire situation was too bizarre for Tony to comprehend at the moment, so he leaned into James embrace to give his whirling mind a break. James took his weight graciously and maneuvered them to the ground, Tony settled in his lap. Strong arms held him as he let his head to rest on James' shoulder.

Cuddling up to his would-be assassin felt way more safe and comforting than it should be, and Tony wondered if the day's events had truly scrambled his brain with their absurdity. Even now James was murmuring reassurances into Tony's ear, sweet and soft.

Well, for the most part. Tony was pretty sure he heard something about burning down the castle and slaughtering his enemies too, retaliation which in his opinion was a bit on the harsh side for any offence, let alone one that didn't actually happen.

It was the last coherent thought he had before the exhaustion and confusion of the day — or maybe it was just the warmth of James' arms — lulled him into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I'm posting now because I need a boost. Also, it's the 17th tomorrow, and I'll be busy celebrating! Happy May 17th to all fellow Norwegians. And happy International Day against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia tomorrow to everyone as well!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the wait was a bit longer this time, but I hope the amount of James in this chapter will make up for it!

The Winter Soldier knew he should be on his way to complete his mission, but found it hard to let go of the precious bundle in his arms. Tony's breath was warm on his neck, the rhythm now one of deep sleep. 

Holding on with one arm, he reached out to straighten the blankets before carefully laying Tony down. The Soldier looked at him in silence, counting his heartbeats by a hand on his chest. He let himself linger for longer than he should. 

There was no longer reason for him to delay his departure; Tony had calmed down, placated by his explanations. The Soldier could ride back and finish his mission without fear of Tony disappearing. 

And yet, he hesitated, reluctant to let the moment pass.

His masters had been approached by someone who wanted the king dead, and they in turn had sent him to carry out the execution. _“Excellent”_ , they had whispered amongst themselves, uncaring that the Soldier might overhear. “ _An opportunity we cannot let pass”_. 

His objective had been to kill the man by any means necessary, as long as he left no trace or indication of who was behind the deed. The Winter Soldier operated in the shadows, and in the shadows he would remain.

He had not counted on _longing_ to step into the light. 

The light of a man with a soul so bright and full of fire it nearly burned to be close. The Soldier had not minded the burn, though. Being close to Tony had made him feel, more than he had ever been given freedom to in the past.

The sensation was a dangerous one. It made the Soldier _want_ , and the Fist of Hydra, their Soldier, their Asset, their _dog_ — was not permitted desires of his own. 

He did not know what had made him act on them this time. 

Leaning down, the Soldier brushed a lock of hair from Tony's forehead before giving in to an unfamiliar instinct, placing a soft kiss on the spot where his fingers had been. He tucked the blankets around Tony the best he could, stealing a last look before standing up.

He turned around to a sword pointed right at him.

All the calm from his time with Tony fled from his body, swept away by an icy gale as he immediately tensed up. The Winter Soldier crouched, ready to fight, knives appearing in his hands in the space of a heartbeat.

The enemy (‘ _Knight, high ranking, insignia of the Captain of the Guard, likely highly trained and dangerous_ ’) kept his eyes on the Soldier and did not falter in the face of the Soldier's glare. He recognized him now; James Rhodes, Tony's _Rhodey_. 

' _Do not kill,_ ' a part of his mind whispered, ' _It would cause Tony to suffer._ ' Revising his initial plan for incapacitation, the Winter Soldier changed his stance to one of defense. Captain Rhodes didn't even blink, but kept his sword steady and unaffected. The look on his face, however, was far from it.

" _You_. I should have known it would be you," he spat in disgust at the Soldier. "I had a feeling something was up when you hadn't left after a week, let alone two; I shouldn't have let Tony convince me you were harmless, that he could handle you."

He finally looked away from the Soldier, if only for a moment, to gaze upon the man all bundled up in blankets behind him. The Winter Soldier moved on instinct, blocking his line of sight as he put himself between the threat (' _No, not a threat, not to Tony_ ') and his... His Tony. Rhodes' eyes snapped back up at him, glaring.

"You finally showed your true colors, huh? Who sent you? Who wants Tony so bad they'll send a man to kidnap him from his own bed?"

The Winter Soldier let out a snarl at the unwitting confession. He had _known_. Rhodes had known whose bed Tony had been made to warm and he had let it happen. In a moment he felt all his training slip away and get overtaken by rage, the control that had been forced upon him from Hydra's discipline _shattering_ as he raised his voice and shouted.

"How can you call yourself his friend when you stood by and let that _monster_ abuse him like that!"

His furious outburst made the knight pause, his face now flickering between anger and confusion.

"I let who do what, now?"

"The king," the Soldier hissed, "you knew what he was doing to Tony."

For some reason that seemed to leave Rhodes even more bewildered than before. The Soldier scoffed in his mind. Was he really playing at ignorance to the atrocity their king had committed right under their noses? No, the captain was a perceptive man. There was no way it had gone unnoticed.

"Wait... You are saying the _king_ ," Rhodes began, with a strange emphasis on the last word, "did something to _Tony_." Again with the emphasis.

"How else would you explain that I found him sleeping in the king's bed?" The Soldier snapped back.

"Of course that's where he sleeps. It's his bed!" The knight retorted, sounding irate.

The Winter Soldier glared at Rhodes, his voice dropping even darker at the reminder. "If it had been me in your place, the king would have died by my hand before he could have laid a finger of his own on Tony. As it is I only regret I have not been sent to kill him sooner."

At the mention of his mission, Rhodes' eyes blazed with protective fury and the Soldier tensed, preparing himself for the attack.

"James, **no!** "

The sound of Tony's voice made both of them halt in their tracks, which was fortunate seeing as Tony — brave, courageous, _reckless_ Tony — had thrown himself right in-between them.

"Tony, what are you doing? He just said he was going to kill you!" Rhodes cried, his sword hastily lowered to the ground to avoid accidentally wounding his friend.

The Soldier barely noticed as he bristled under the accusation. "I would _never_ harm him, I am not like—"

"STAND DOWN!"

Tony's shout nearly made him flinch, and the thought of Tony's anger being directed at him had a familiar uncomfortable feeling spread through his chest. He had failed. He had failed, and he had made Tony angry, and now he would be punished for it, his Master would—

‘ _No, not the Master— **Tony** ’_

The Soldier closed his eyes as a shiver went through him. Tony wasn’t like the Master. Tony wouldn’t punish him. Still, the unpleasant tightening in his chest ( _‘Shame’_ , whispered a voice in the back of his mind) still lingered as he looked up, hesitatingly. He exhaled in relief as he found the expression on Tony's face to be one of stubborn determination rather than anger. He could not say the same for Captain Rhodes.

"Why are you defending him, Tony? He just admitted to wanting you dead!"

Tony locked eyes with the Soldier for a brief moment — his expression one not even all the Winter Soldier's years of training managed to decipher — before turning to Rhodes with a sigh.

"He doesn't know who I am, Rhodey." 

Confusion filled the Soldier’s mind. He _did_ know who Tony was; a servant of the castle who worked the forges most of the day, but would often be carrying out all manner of tasks around the castle grounds, would even take on the work of others when he could. He was _kind_ , so kind, even to a stranger posing as a messenger but with far more sinister intentions, though he never knew it. Tony, precious Tony, with a heart so big and full of love that some of it had managed to spill over into the Winter Soldier's own frozen heart, filling him with a warmth he had not felt in all the years he could remember.

Who was Tony if not all of that?

Tony looked at him as if he had read the thoughts right off the Soldier's mind, and answered his unspoken question.

"He doesn't know I'm the king."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked James' point of view! He's a bit dramatic. I blame Hydra.
> 
> By the way, I'm also on [tumblr](https://journeythroughtherain.tumblr.com/), should anyone be curious!


	4. Chapter 4

Tony hadn't been sure how James would react to his confession. 

At worst, James wouldn't care and insist on finishing his mission anyway, especially now that he knew that he, the king, was so conveniently close. If Tony died by James' hand, Rhodey would _kill_ him, and James too, which would benefit precisely no one.

At best, Tony had perhaps hoped it would cause James to lay down his weapons and surrender, explain to them that he hadn't had a choice, that he didn't want to kill the king at all, and that they'd forced him to take on the mission in some way. 

Then maybe he'd swear to tell them everything he knew and join the guard in the hunt for Tony's enemies because, miraculously, James had grown to care about him, and when they returned victorious he'd sweep Tony up in his arms and tell him he'd stay forever.

...So he'd had time to dream as he'd laid there reorienting himself after his unplanned nap. What _mattered_ was that when his muddled mind had caught up with the potentially deadly situation above him, he'd reacted — and managed to calm it down quite sufficiently, if he could say so himself.

Neither James had looked particularly happy with his intervention, but they weren't killing each other either, was good enough for Tony.

Rhodey looked _infuriated_ , James looked... Tony had never seen that look on his face before, except, perhaps, in glimpses during their earlier conversation. The look he got every time anyone so much as mentioned the king.

It was _not_ the same expression he had whenever he mentioned Tony, though, and together with what Tony had pieced together from the earlier conversations, it lead him to confessing his secret that was not really a secret at all. 

Tony kept his eyes on James, watching for clues as to which way he would respond, bracing himself for the eventual attack or surrender.

He was not at all prepared for _denial_.

"No... No, it can't be true!" James staggered back, knives still up but posture unsteady. "You can't be him, you are lying!"

His eyes locked with Tony’s, pleading for an answer Tony couldn't give.

"Tony, I will not let you take his place. Your life is worth ten of his, you must know that. You should not sacrifice it for his with this... This falsehood.” James shook his head, as if trying to expel the thought by force. “Did he force you to do _this_ as well? To have you die in his stead?"

At the sound of his lost and confused voice, Tony couldn’t help himself; he reached out towards him.

Before he could do something too stupid though, like step into reach of those intimidating knives, he was yanked right back by the collar of his shirt courtesy of his best friend. Peeking out from behind Rhodey, who had planted himself in front of him like a guardian statue, Tony tried to reason with his distressed kidnapper.

"Look, I don't know where you are getting your information from, and quite frankly I'm a bit insulted that you seem so convinced I can't possibly be a king, but it's true. I am the crowned king, and I have been since I was seventeen."

"No." James said stubbornly, which by this point was just plain rude. Why was it so impossible to imagine him as a king? He was plenty kingly. Most of the time.

"Why not?" He asked, trying not to pout. 

James, who had grown even more distraught since Tony’s affirmation, gripped his knives tighter to stop the tremors currently spreading through his body. His eyes began flicking back and forth between him and Rhodey, his breathing picking up.

"King Stark is a cruel, selfish old man," he began, sounding desperate for them to understand, "a warmonger, a destructive force. His death will bring end to chaos and allow Hydra to bring order and freedom to his people. My work will shape the century."

"Okaaaay," said Rhodey, taking a few steps back and using his free arm to herd Tony with him, "that's... That was weird." Turning his head slightly he lowered his voice so James wouldn't hear him, "Tony, why do you keep attracting the crazy ones?"

"Hey! Don't blame me." Tony whispered back, put upon by the accusation. "Besides, James isn't crazy, he's just... Slightly misinformed. Also he's the Winter Soldier, so there's that."

It was, Tony could admit, not the best way he could have delivered that particular piece of information. 

"He is _what_?!" Rhodey whipped his head back, regarding the Soldier with new, more cautious eyes. Not that they didn't still promise death and destruction should James take a single wrong step, though. After some deliberation, Rhodey spoke up again.

"Tony, I would give anything for you not to have to do this, but I need you to talk this guy down. The rest of the guard will be here soon, and I'd rather not have this end up in a fight if we can avoid it. Especially if what you say is true and he is the Winter Soldier." The last line was filled with incredulity, like he couldn't quite believe the words out of his mouth. Tony understood him perfectly; it wasn't every day a fairy tale figure stood in front of you alive and unfortunately prepared to fight you. Gathering his wits, Tony thought about what to say to avoid the situation ending in bloodshed.

A plan begun to form in his mind, but before he could act it out he had to make sure his unwavering guardian wouldn't interfere.

"Rhodey, do you trust me?"

"Always."

"Okay, good, great. I need you to let me pass."

Rhodey looked like he wanted to object, eyes darting from Tony to James and back, silently letting Tony know he thought he was out of his mind. Nevertheless, he relented at Tony's hard stare and let him slip by.

Tony could nearly feel Rhodey's disapproving stare burning holes in the back of his head as he slowly approached the twitching assassin. 

"Hey, there, James," he began, choosing his words carefully, "do you think we could talk a bit about this? Seems we've got some misunderstandings to clear up, don't you think?"

He kept his voice calm and his hands non-threatening and noted with relief that while he was following Tony’s every step forward with his eyes, James made no move to run off. Tony took this as a sign he wasn’t doing too badly.

He reached the other man and carefully placed his hands over James' where they were clenched hard around his knives. A light push downwards had him lowering his weapons easily enough, though Tony felt a bit like he'd been stabbed anyway at the look James gave him; full of desperate confusion, a little bit of hope and a whole lot of trust.

It almost broke Tony's heart to go through with his plan.

Raising his arms again, he slowly reached for James' face with open palms. The man stood stock still, barely breathing, his eyes fixed on Tony's. Keeping the tremble out of his voice as he began stroking tiny circles into James' skin with his thumbs, Tony continued. 

"See, that's not so bad, is it? I know you're confused right now, but let's keep it calm. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt."

"I won't let anyone harm you, Tony." James whispered, the words nearly imperceptible.

Tony smiled, a faint quirk of his lips as he slid his hands lower. "That's great, James. I don't want anyone to harm you either, not if I can help it."

James was just about to answer when he froze, eyes widening before they fluttered closed as he slumped over into Tony’s waiting arms. Tony caught him and lowered them both to the ground, careful to avoid pricking himself with the needle that had been concealed inside his ring. He flicked the cover back on as soon as he could; Rhodey would never let it go if he managed to poison himself on accident.

Looking down at the sleeping man in front of him, Tony couldn't help but feel a wave of regret. Regret for doing this to a man he'd grown to care for, or regret for having fallen for the lies in the first place, he didn't know.

What he _did_ know, he thought as he brushed a stray lock of hair from James' face, was that he wasn't ready to give up on him quite yet. There was something about this situation that didn't add up, something off about this mission, _something_ going on with James that had led him to this point.

And if Tony could just solve the mystery, figure it out— he might just get to keep him after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sure you have a lot of questions about what in the world is going on with our dear James here. Fortunately for you, I have been wondering the same thing, and come up with some answers! That's why I'm making this a series - I'd rather this episode stand as complete and then add on the rest when it's done. Hopefully, with summer just around the corner, it won't take too long.

**Author's Note:**

> So there it is, my first attempt at posting a fanfiction. Comments and kudos are appreciated if you can spare the time. Let me know your thoughts!
> 
> (Also, feel free to tell me of any mistakes, I'd love to straighten them out.)


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